Online insurance breaks the bank

Buying online can bring great bargains on some goods - but beware - the online world is not always as cheap as you might think and it always pays to shop around.

Egg, the savings account from the Prudential, launched so successfully last year, is offering year-long travel insurance online - but at a price.

A year's cover for an individual, including winter sports cover, costs £99. Fair enough, you might think, until you realise that with the Bradford and Bingley building society the same cover costs £79.09.

For a couple the situation worsens. Egg charges £135 a year for two people - the Bradford & Bingley only £111.85.

If you want to bring the children along, with Egg this will set you back £145 for a year. The Bradford and Bingley charges £126.54.

Telephone-based insurance company Columbus Travel also offers prices a good ten per cent less than Egg's.

Trevor Field, head of insurance products at Egg, said: 'We feel that the comprehensive insurance we offer is good value. When selling products over the Internet simplicity is of overriding importance. For this reason we have no exclusions and offer full cover.'

The Bradford & Bingley, fighting a battle to keep its mutual status, said its competitive rates would be under threat if the building society converted to a bank.